One weekday in May, the explosive beats of a drum orchestra filled a Eugene McDermott Plaza Lecture Hall on South Campus – not the usual scientific lecture. The sounds, a sharp contrast to lessons in humility ingrained in traditional Asian culture, led to the perfect introduction for a speech on 21st century leadership.

“We were taught – Confucius teaches us – that we need to be humble,” said Caren Lock, Regional Vice President and Associate General Counsel of the financial services company TIAA. “But in the U.S., you should take credit and have an inventory of your successes. … There’s nothing wrong with taking ownership of what you have done and sharing it at the right time. … I didn’t do that, and I waited almost 15 years before I asked for a raise,” continued Ms. Lock, keynote speaker for the Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Signature Event, “Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity.”

Keynote speaker Caren Lock encouraged attendees of the event to take credit for their successes as up-and-coming leaders.

She learned from a former co-worker, nicknamed “Bob,” whom she disliked because he was boastful and stole credit for other people’s work.

But she looked at him through another lens: “I want you to say, ‘What would Bob do?’ because Bob would raise his hand up and go, ‘Yeah, I’m totally qualified, and even though I’ve never done this, I’m going to learn it.’”

“Bob has taken advantage of every opportunity available to him,” she told attendees at the May 24 event. “And you should too.”

The lesson of Bob doesn’t mean one has to give up their culture to succeed in the United States, she said. As a Chinese American who travels extensively as a lobbyist, Ms. Lock often finds herself standing out.

Her solution? Don’t pretend to be someone else: “There’s not that many of me in Topeka, Kansas,” she said.

Rather than trying to blend in, she works to stand out. “I wear bright colors … I’ve developed my brand, I’m good at my job, and I’m prepared,” she said.

Ms. Lock said she uses “the five G’s” to succeed: genuine, grit, grace, gratitude, and gravitas.

Being genuine doesn’t mean “pretend to be Bob,” she said, but to be true to your core values and to have boundaries that you won’t cross.

Grit involves finishing what you start, even if you know you’re going to lose, Ms. Lock said. For example, as a young lawyer, she once took on a case she was sure not to win, but “if I said ‘no’ because I didn’t want to lose, that was ego talking,” she said.

Grace is having compassion for yourself, Ms. Lock said. “Do not think for a moment that you always have to bat a thousand,” she explained. “It’s OK to fail. Just pick yourself back up.”

Gratitude can take the form of giving back by helping people who need a hand up. “If you find me on LinkedIn, and you ask me a question, I will make time for you,” she said.

Finally, she added, gravitas is having people respect you, which is distinct from fear.

“All the things that I talked to you about earlier – knowing who you are, having all the information, making yourself valuable to the organization that you’re in – that’s gravitas,” she said.

In closing, Ms. Lock was asked to share advice to help Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders be successful leaders as well as tips to reduce divisiveness.

“I would educate others that we have a lot more in common than not – we all bleed red. We have so much more that binds us than divides us. It’s true, but if we don’t talk about it, then no one’s going to understand,” she said. “It can be something very simple, from the way you pronounce your name. Ask someone how they pronounce their name. It tells that person that they’re important. Getting their name right is important. They should learn to say it, and if I have to ask you to teach me, that’s OK. Share your culture. Don’t be afraid of it – because it is who you are.”

The event was sponsored by the Asian-Pacific Islander Business Resource Group, which focuses on leadership development, peer education, knowledge sharing, and community engagement at UTSW.